Steady Beats
by goodacoustics
Summary: Mio can play her bass with a steady beat, but her heart beats to its own rhythm whenever she sees a certain charming drummer. Likewise, Ritsu's heartbeat is as wild and rushed as her drumming when she catches a certain pair of silvery eyes watching her.


Disclaimer: I don't own K-on. Obviously.

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She has tomboyish, tousled hair pushed away from her perpetually smiling face. She has eyes like fire that light up a room. She has small but tough hands that have been strengthened from years of passionately banging on drums. She plays too fast, too jumbled, but she plays with heart. Her vice grip on the sticks is too tight, as if she's afraid to loosen them in case they might slip away.

She has her closest friend since childhood, who gives her reason to grin. Who lights up her world and makes her try to be strong. Who makes her blood course through her veins and her heart beat with a rushed rhythm. But if she holds onto her friend too tight, she's afraid she'll be pushed away. And if that were to happen, she swears the music, the harmony, the melody in her would bleed away.

Upstairs in the music room, the afternoon glow of an orange skyline floods in. It paints the walls warm and shimmers off of guitars, a bass, a keyboard, and a drum set. Students dispersing into the streets and off to their homes can be faintly heard. Laughter and footsteps drift away into silence.

In the drummer's seat is a girl, but she is not a drummer. She is a bassist, and so she holds up the two sticks with curiosity, examining them like space rocks. Tentatively, she presses down on the pedal with her foot, and is slightly surprised at how loud the boom is. Amazed, she taps the cymbals lightly, enjoying the tinkling sound. The drums have always been behind her, playing in rhythm to her bass, but she has never heard them like this before. Sure, Ritsu has let her tinker with her drums before, but now, alone and in quiet, she gains a new interest for them.

She takes a deep breath and ventures further, playing a simple beat. Boom clash, boom boom clash, boom clash, boom boom clash. After succeeding for a while, she feels confident enough to try something more complicated. She adds in another drum and a more complicated pattern, but quickly finds herself tangled. But what did she expect? She is not a drummer, she thinks to herself. She is not confident, strong, and high-spirited... Her mind wanders to thoughts about her drummer friend, the rambunctious Ritsu. ._..Why am I thinking about her again?..._ She lets out an exasperated groan and clashes the cymbals. One eyebrow raises as an idea comes to her. She takes in another deep breath and begins to play, but now without any pattern. Her movements are quick, powerful, and thoughtless; she doesn't play systematically, but emotionally, pounding her frustrations into the music.

With a grand flourish, she finishes off with a roll of drums and a cymbal crash. She tries to calm down her now short breaths and flexes her hands with a smile. It was an amazing feeling, like the fog that clouded her mind had been wiped away. Not quite as enjoyable as playing the bass, but nonetheless freeing. _No wonder she's always so lighthearted, she pounds away her troubles... just like how I sometimes pound my anger onto her head when she teases me._ A small smile curves on her lips. She attempts to spin one of the drumsticks around her thumb like she has always seen it done. The large, unwieldy stick is flung across the room and clatters on the floor. The girl mutters under her breath, "Oh good job Mio. I'm such an idiot."

As she bends over and reaches for it, someone else's agile hands dart first, and her hand accidentally brushes against them.

"If you're such an idiot, then why am I here to get tutored by you?" jokes the owner of the hands. She had heard the familiar clash and clang of her drum set from downstairs. Knowing that it was probably Mio because all of the other band members had already left, she bounded the steps, two at a time. She planned to jump in and scare her, but upon walking through the open door, she could do nothing but gaze, awestruck. The dusk sun was casting its brilliant shades of color on the girl completely absorbed in her playing. _She looks... beautiful._ The unabashed confidence and energy radiating from her made Ristu's jaw hang open. But what really struck her was that she was playing so passionately on _her_ drum set. The fact made her feel warm in the pit of her stomach.

And now, she expertly twirls the drumstick in front of Mio's eyes. Mio flushes- she was caught in such an embarrassing situation, the equivalent to singing loudly when home alone. She notes how devilish Ritsu looks, blocking the doorway to escape and mocking her with the drumstick. Her heart beats loud and fast in her ears.

"N-Not anymore I'm not!" retorts Mio, still blushing and cursing herself for stuttering. She shoves the other drumstick into Ritsu's palm and stomps away to pack up her bass.

"W-wait, Mio!" Ritsu grabs her by the arm, but when the dark-haired girl turns to her, she looks down and runs her fingers through her short hair. "I... you're not an idiot..."

She starts to turn away again, rolling her eyes, "I didn't really think I-"  
"No, i mean the drums! I heard you play... and it had a nice beat..." Mio notices how her friend has trouble looking her in the eyes, and wonders what could have made her so tense and self-conscious.

She looks so helpless and shy, so utterly... cute.

Wait, what was she thinking? Those kinds of thoughts had brought her to the music room to clear her mind in first place! She needed to get out so she would stop gawking at her best friend, which would've definitely led to some awkward questions.

But her feet are cemented to the ground, and she can't help but notice how sincere the girl sounds. She tries to act unaffected, but her heart skips a beat, and she can't help but soak in every detail about the girl in front of her, like how she is nibbling at lower lip. "R-really...?"

"Heh, well let's not get too cocky here- no one can compare to the Great Ritsu! I just still need your tuto-"

BONK. A new bump forms on the drummer's head. _Nevermind_, Mio thought, _she's the devil. _She continues towards her instrument, named Elizabeth. Ritsu, smiling, skips ahead of her and begins to put the strap around her neck, but around the wrong shoulder.

"H-Hey, what do you think you're doing with Eliz- I mean, my bass!"

"Aw Mio you don't need to hide your affection for your instrument! I'm proud of my drums, in fact I should probably give him a name too! ... hm what do you think of Ferdinand?"

"That's an idiotic name. It should be something more refined like- wait why are we even discussing this, give me back my bass!"

Ritsu pouted, "But you got to play with my drums!" Mio opens her mouth to talk back, but realizes what she said was true and clamps her mouth shut.

"You're not even left-handed! At least wear it correctly..." she mumbles cutely, like a child who has to share her favorite toy. She steps behind the shorter girl and gently lifts the upside down instrument off of her. She runs her hand through her friend's soft hair to brush it to the side out of the way and fit on the strap. The action sends a chill down Ritsu's spine. As Mio's hands adjust the strap to fit her smaller frame, Ritsu's drop to her sides and pull at the ends of her shirt, slightly shaking.

When she is finally done, she saunters over to the amplifier, switches it on, and says to the drummer indignantly, "Go ahead."

For a moment, she just stares at the instrument in her hands, trying to make sense of it. _Left-handed... so left hand first?_ Using her index finger, she pulls the four strings in succession from top to bottom. At a loss as to what to do next, she grins sheepishly to her friend with a look that says, "Help me out?"

Rolling her eyes, Mio says, "You really are an idiot. Here put your fingers on that fret. No, THAT fret." She gives up trying to move Ritsu's individual fingers and walks around her once again. "Here..." her voice trails off as she places her hands over the other girl's, somewhat startling her. Mio's hands are somewhat cold, but soft and delicate. Ristu's feel warm and comforting under hers. For once, Mio is calm and confident, holding the instrument she is so familiar with, while Ritsu is the one shy and nervous.

"H-huh?" The shorter girl feels herself heating up. Her mind is a blank and she cannot focus on anything but the incredible feel of Mio's hands on hers, and Mio herself lightly pressed against her back, and Mio's arms circled around her. _I-this can't be right. I can't be thinking these thoughts about my best friend. I-_

"I- It's easier for me to show you this way," mumbles the taller girl, unfortunately for the flustered drummer, right beside her ear. She gulps, her throat suddenly dry. Mio either doesn't notice the girl's internal struggle or dismisses it. _I hope she isn't too weirded out. I mean, we've _hugged_ before...But that was before, when I didn't feel this way..._ She decides that she is standing a bit more closely to Ritsu than necessary, but guiltily stays where she is. She breathes in the scent of her sweet, honey-like hair. Normally plagued by anxiousness and worry, Mio is now content after her little charade with the drums.

Then, she takes a steadying breath and begins to play.

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End of chapter one! That is, if I choose to continue it. Right now it doesn't have a very definite ending but I just wanted to post this up. Should I continue? Comments and criticism appreciated. Or maybe a plot idea because I don't even know where this story is going. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading.


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